He also brushed aside calls by the Rev. Al Sharpton and others to shut down the city to peacefully protest the acquittals.

"Nobody's going ot shut down the city. The city's doing fine," Bloomberg told reporters during a Q&A today in Queens.

"We have every reason to be very proud of ourselves. This is a city where people know they have to live together, work together," he added, and said New Yorkers "understand there are ways to express yourselves that don't tear us apart and hurt this city."